Belt And Road Weekly Investor Intelligence #102

Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Compiled by Chris Devonshire-Ellis

It’s all eyes on the Caspian this week as the Second Caspian Sea Forum has just concluded in Moscow. With Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia, and Turkmenistan all Caspian nations, the event also included delegations from China as well as Turkiye, Uzbekistan, India, and some of the Gulf States, due to the Caspian’s intrinsic role within the Europe-Asia Middle Corridor and INSTC networks. Numerous critical development concepts were discussed at the event, which if implemented will massively impact Eurasian trade and development.

Elsewhere, we examine further Chinese de-dollarization as the RMB takes a larger chunk of BRI trade and take a look at how Russian manufacturing is commencing a migration to China’s neighboring countries as Russia looks East. In the Far North, Gazprom has commenced work building the Arctic Northern Latitudinal Railway. At the same time, we complete this week’s round-up with an overview of global media BRI headlines, opinions, and analysis.

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Regional Trade & Development Strategy Highlights From The Second Caspian Sea Forum
Moscow has been hosting the second Caspian Economic Forum, being an important platform for discussing cooperation between the countries of the Caspian region. These include Russia as well as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Azerbaijan. The Caspian has become increasingly important as it develops two main transport corridors heading east from Europe and Turkiye, and has a vital strategic position in Eurasia, supplying 20% of global oil and 26% of global gas supplies.
Iran Proposes New Caspian Sea Free Trade & Tourism Area
Iran has proposed the creation of a common economic area for countries bordering the Caspian Sea. Speaking at the Second Caspian Sea Forum held in Moscow last week, Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber also suggested introducing simplified customs procedures known as a “green corridor” in the region.
Iran: Developing Free Trade Zones With Russia Can Beat Sanctions
Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has said that US-led sanctions cannot stand in the way of trade between Iran and Russia and has highlighted the role of free trade zones in bypassing the embargoes and expanding bilateral ties. He underlined the capacities of Russia’s Astrakhan Free Trade Zone but noted that Iran and Russia should not limit themselves to it and should devise a comprehensive plan for further development of economic cooperation.
China’s RMB Settlements Along BRI Markets Up 19.6%
China’s drive to de-dollarization and the emergence of the RMB Yuan as a global reserve currency has increased. China’s RMB settlements with Belt and Road countries stood at 5.42 trillion yuan (US$763.4 billion) in 2021, up 19.6% year on year, according to the People’s Bank of China. This trade accounted for 14.8% of China’s total cross-border use of RMB in 2021. RMB settlements climbed 14.7% in trade of goods and 43.4% in direct overseas investment.
Kyrgyzstan Offers Preferential Incentives To Attract Russian Manufacturers
Umbriel Temiraliev, the head of Kyrgyzstan’s National Investment Agency, has said during the current Russia-Kyrgyzstan Investment Forum that numerous Russian companies are interested in partial localization of their production in Kyrgyzstan and that Kyrgyz national authorities are prepared to create the necessary conditions to accommodate this.
Gazprom Starts Work On The Arctic Northern Latitudinal Railway
Gazprom is beginning construction (overhaul) of the Nadym – Pangody section of the railroad, which will become a part of the Northern Latitudinal Railway, the company has said. The Northern Latitudinal Railway will allow for a direct connection between Northern and Sverdlovsk railroads on the Obskaya – Salekhard – Nadym – Pangody – Novy Urengoy – Korotchaevo route in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District (YNAO). The total length of the railway is about 700 km.
China’s Belt & Road And Beyond
A global media roundup of all the latest international news, analysis, and opinion from the BRI.

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